# Would a rattlesnake be dangerous to an extraterrestrial?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-rattlesnake-be-dangerous-to-an-extraterrestrial/535106>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 6, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-rattlesnake-be-dangerous-to-an-extraterrestrial/535106 "2010-04-06T02:49:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-rattlesnake-be-dangerous-to-an-extraterrestrial/535106/21 "2010-04-07T18:42:17Z")

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> [@appleciders](#):
>
> I am curious at your point that they’re “speculated to have half-lives in days or perhaps years,”- do you have a cite for that one? I haven’t seen anything about this other than that an “island of stability” probably exists.

It’s in the NY Times article you linked to in your post:

> [@](#):
>
> The reason may be that the elements are approaching a theorized “island of stability” at still higher masses, where the lifetimes could go from fractions of a second to days or even years, Dr. Hamilton said.

It’s always good to read your own cites all the way through. 🙂

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**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-rattlesnake-be-dangerous-to-an-extraterrestrial/535106/22 "2010-04-07T18:53:50Z")

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> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> And siloxide chains have shorter and stronger bonds that aren’t as amenible to the conformal variations that allow the construction of complex reactive proteins. Silica-based “organic” biochemisty would require more aggressive solvents and higher energies than carbon chains, and probably wouldn’t allow macromolecules of sufficient complexity. Carbon-silicon bonds are possible (although apparently absent in terrestrial life) put pure silicon polymer biochemistry appears unlikely.
> 
> Life based on transuranic elements is grossly unlikely for the obvious reasons that such elements are rare, unstable, and have electrochemical properties which are not well suited to stable chemical bonds at in the useful range of bond energies.
> 
> Stranger

Are there environments in which silicon has an advantage over carbon, due to maybe temperature, or specific chemical mix.

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